October 26-28, 2015
Austin, Texas In this new era of automation, it is more important than ever before to ensure that the right systems and the right people are in place. Summit Info

December 6 - 9, 2015
Scottsdale, ArizonaLarge and small agencies alike must be nimble in execution in order to meet their clients' desires for both innovation and scale. This December, agency leaders will converge to discuss the latest tools, tactics, and strategies for finding the right balance between experience and experimentation.Summit Info

8 social curation tricks for Pinterest and beyond

1. Become a curator creator

This tactic is strictly for warriors because it takes time, diligence, and a step outside the marketing box to become one with a community. Becoming a curator will mean rolling up your sleeves to create your own Pinterest board or other social network profile. There's more to it than slapping your pretty little logo up there and waiting for all the people who should be so blessed as to be graced by your brand to come falling at your footsteps. You will actually need to become a worker bee in the community, contributing, making friends, and consistently showing up.

Be prepared to show appreciation for other's content, instigate public two-way conversations, and post stuff that would make any direct marketer cringe in disgust. Sure, if you're Urban Outfitters, customers would love to see a trendy chick trouncing around Coachella in the latest fashion. But they do not want to see a blinking "buy now" button. Most brands will need to get really creative about what entertainment value they can offer communities in these channels. On the bright side, it gives marketers the opportunity to communicate on a grass-roots level. Are you ready for the challenge? Go forth, warrior.

2. Create an interest-based content strategy

As marketers, we tend to base our communications around products and target markets. To be an awesome content curator or creator, you'll want to push that into the back of your mind and focus on interests. This can be accomplished with some listening, observation, and information collection on what your customers care about when they aren't out buying your product. Then, align their real-life interests with your brand position.

Once your interest-based segments are established, go through your existing content assets to determine what can be repurposed and, yes, curated toward their topics. An excellent example of this is what Whole Foods Market Austin did with its Pinterest boards. I'd argue food is love, but technically it does not sell hot kitchens, love, or recycling. With about 145,000 followers between these three boards alone, Whole Foods Market Austin seems to have a good understanding of who its audience is and how to align its brand to them. I couldn't help but follow.